Yuki to play in qualifying tournament of Tata Open Maharashtra using protected ranking
Indian tennis player Yuki Bhambri will use his protected ranking of No. 127 to play in the qualifying event of the Tata Open Maharashtra, the country’s only ATP 250 tennis tournament. The organizers gave this information on Thursday. Under the protected ranking, if a player misses a tournament for at least six months due to physical injury, he can use his ranking at the time of injury to play in the tournament on his return. It has happened
The 30-year-old Yuki, currently ranked outside the top 500 in the ATP singles rankings, also has a chance to make a direct entry into the singles main draw should some players withdraw. Two wild cards are available for the qualifying event starting December 31 at the Balewadi Stadium here and being an Indian event, the organizers are expected to give it to domestic players.
The organizers are also expected to give wild card entry to other top players of the country in the singles main draw as well. India’s top singles player is Sasikumar Mukund at world number 342, followed by Prajnesh Gunneswaran (349), Ramkumar Ramanathan (437), Sumit Nagal (506) and Yuki. It remains to be seen who among these players gets the wild card. Last year’s semi-finalist Elias Yamer will also feature in the qualifiers, while American Christopher Eubanks and former world number 39 Peter Gojovic will also challenge.
